New drugs arrests highlight risks

Friday 07 March 2014

Two Islanders – one just 15 years old – have been charged over possession of former “legal highs” prompting police to repeat warning about the dangers of using the drugs.

The two cases are unrelated incidents, but police say that they illustrate the dangers of “new psychoactive substances” are serious, because buyers have no way of knowing what they will end up taking.

The 15-year-old ordered a drug called Pandora from the internet, and appeared in the Youth Court earlier this week.

In the second case, a 40-year-old man was found in possession of a drug called GoGain, which was found to contain a banned substance. He has yet to be charged.

Detective Chief Inspector Chris Beechey said that even beyond the possible health risks from the substances, they also carried the threat of a criminal conviction for drug possession, which could mean losing your job, facing travel restrictions and struggling to find work in the future.

He said: “For a while now we have been warning islanders about the dangers of new psychoactive substances. There is absolutely no way for people to know what they are taking and whether or not it is legal. These two cases show that what they thought was legal was in fact not.

“In the eyes of the law ignorance is no excuse and to have a charge of drug possession on your record has the potential to destroy everything you have worked for.

“Aside from that there are also the health implications that you have no idea what you are putting into your body and the effects. Do you think these people selling the drugs care what happens to you?”